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All I know is that with out PDE I would have had a very very painful dog for a hell of a lot longer as PDE was the sole reason I had Ruby scanned!!

I read the article in Dogs Today by Jemima Harison and she speaks about high lighting the sucess stories on the program but not forgetting what a long way to go there is with others!

And for Cavaliers there is such a very long way to go and maybe, just maybe when people see what little prgress there has been by the Kennel Club to help us out they will think again before buying from non health tested parents!!

Its is 'recommened' that parents are heart scanned, 'recommended' that parents are eye tested, recommend, recommend, recommend!! No mention of anything mandatory!!

And the Kennel Club say that the breeders are 'ON board' with the EBV scheme!!!

I'm sorry but PDE only started the ball rolling for these wonderful little dogs- now lets get serious and tell the Public what has really happened since- because if t wasn't for the Pet owner research schemes there wouldn't be much tto talk about would there!!!

Karen

Ruby - my stunning soul mate who defies the odds every dayCharlie- my angel at heart and devil at play

I fully agree there is a long way to go ,and to think where we would be without it even though I have never watched it, the ensuing publicity it quickly attracted helped so many of us pet owners by educating us of the dark side that was only whispered about between breeders and quickly after denial buried again and certainly not mentioned to "those" the pet buying public .We have so much to thank J.H. and P.D.E. for so lets hope PDE 2 is equally earth shattering and if not then lets see PDE 3 and more till all breeders are responsible health breeders and all breed according to the recommended guidelines .And equally a huge Thank You to the many breeders that are now conforming to the health breedng guidelines. Though I would dearly love to see more adopting The MVD Breeding Protocol and no underage dogs appearing in the Breed Record Supplements with many coming from supposedly leading well known names .I wonder if R. M. ever bred Cavaliers .

And I certainly dont think with any Cavalier issues "one can run with the hares and hunt with the hounds",if breeders will not accept and comply with all
the necessary health tests and breeding guidelines ie SM and MVD, then it should be made compulsory that they do or the other choice for them is get out of breeding even the few that have been breeding for centuries as its obvious that even with their aged knowledge after playing God they have left there patient broken, maybe beyond repair .I am so happy to be just a poor humble pet owner but one who wants my pet to be happy ,healthy and long lived, I think I am going to be disappointed .

I think everyone should watch "Pedigree Dogs Exposed" and then re-watch it periodically, again and again. I just finished watching it, to refresh my memory. I did it because, just last week, Ron Menaker, the chairman of the board of the American Kennel Club described PDE as a "piece of sensationalist fiction and tabloid journalism masquerading as a documentary".

I had not recalled it being that way, and so I watched it again to re-assure myself that the AKC chairman either has not watched it himself, or he has watched it and has chosen to lie about its content. I was thusly reassured; he is either ignorant or a liar.

The segments about the cavalier are excellently presented and completely factual. If you did not know about MVD and CM/SM in the CKCS, then PDE will teach you by presenting Simon Swift and Clare Rusbridge to tell you about those disorders, including how dangerously widespread they are in the breed. You may watch it, too, at http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/pedigree-dogs-exposed/

I think everyone should watch "Pedigree Dogs Exposed" and then re-watch it periodically, again and again. I just finished watching it, to refresh my memory. I did it because, just last week, Ron Menaker, the chairman of the board of the American Kennel Club described PDE as a "piece of sensationalist fiction and tabloid journalism masquerading as a documentary".

I had not watched PDE until today. Was not sure if I could bear to watch any animal that is suffering but decided I should do it as I am trying to gain more information into the world of dogs--Cavaliers especially. Don't for the life of me see how it correlates to prospect of people inbreeding, however. This is totally preposterous. That's like comparing apples to oranges--or worse!

I do feel that PDE is sensationalistic in it's "exposure." But then again sensationalism in the media is what sells, I suppose.

Then again insight can be a powerful weapon. And in this respect I am glad I watched it.

This may be true my objection results from the question posed to Mr Irving by the reporter who wanted to know if he would entertain the thought of "inbreeding" within his own family members!If you can see no difference here you best return to basic science classes. The question posed has no correlation between people/dogs and there is a difference between the two.Sorry for my ignorance.

I don't understand why you would think the question has no correlation . . . and I understand science and genetics fairly competently. Biologically, the risks of inbreeding in humans are similar to other mammals. The reporter asked a question that has validity from a biological standpoint. IF you only pondered it only from a moral standpoint knowing humans have a moral code and animals don't, then think harder on it as that is not the only way the question can be interpreted. The obvious reason for the question was because of the biological implications - which is the reason behind the taboo in most human societies.

This may be true my objection results from the question posed to Mr Irving by the reporter who wanted to know if he would entertain the thought of "inbreeding" within his own family members!

If you can see no difference here you best return to basic science classes. The question posed has no correlation between people/dogs and there is a difference between the two.

Sorry for my ignorance.

I'm no scientist but I do know that mammals don't naturally breed with close relatives. Mans interference and strange need for the 'perfect' specimen for the show ring amoungst everything else are why this breed is in such a mess.
Line breeding is a biological nightmare thatshould have been banned a long time ago and the question was a good one to Mr Irving who clearly didn't like the question!!

Karen

Ruby - my stunning soul mate who defies the odds every dayCharlie- my angel at heart and devil at play

The Blue People of Kentucky

Originally Posted by Karen and Ruby

I'm no scientist but I do know that mammals don't naturally breed with close relatives. Mans interference and strange need for the 'perfect' specimen for the show ring amoungst everything else are why this breed is in such a mess.
Line breeding is a biological nightmare thatshould have been banned a long time ago and the question was a good one to Mr Irving who clearly didn't like the question!!

I would not say linebreeding is a genetic nightmare. You can read several things Dr. Bell has written about the ins and outs of breeding. http://www.malamutehealth.org/articl..._genetics3.htm I'm not getting into that because I have never bred before but I will say that if a breeder had a blue cavalier they would be removed from the breeding program. This is a
The Blue People of Kentucky is a genetic tale of inbreeding with recessive genes.

Yes, there is a joke about inbreeding in Kentucky. Actually in South Carolina, everyone seems related to everyone else especially in some circles. You can see that in history with royalty, in isolated populations etc. This is what caused "THE BLUE PEOPLE OF TROUBLESOME CREEK"

You can read about them but basically it started way back in the 1800's where a person who settled married a woman who carried the same recessive trait. Well they were isolated and you can get the picture.